Richard Hammond 'hurt badly' in motorbike crash in Africa

The daredevil TV presenter has been injured while filming the Amazon Prime series The Grand Tour with his former Top Gear colleagues.

Former Top Gear star Richard Hammond has been involved in a high-speed motorcycle crash in Africa.

The 47-year-old presenter of The Grand Tour, the show he and fellow presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May make for Amazon Prime following their defection from the BBC's Top Gear in September 2015, was filming in Mozambique when he came off his bike and was injured.

Clarkson reportedly told the UK's The Sun his friend "really did hurt himself quite badly".

The incident immediately sparked memories of Hammond's horrific high-speed crash in September 2006 while filming a stunt for Top Gear.

On that occasion, the jet-propelled Vampire dragster had reached a speed of 464 kmh when one of its tyres failed, causing the vehicle to slide off the race track before flipping.

The top of Hammond's helmet was reportedly dragged along the ground, leaving Hammond with a significant brain injury. By November, he appeared to have made a full recovery and was behind the wheel again.

Despite The Sun describing the more recent incident in Africa as a "horror bike crash", Hammond has moved quickly to reassure fans that all is well.

He posted to motoring forum Drive Tribe under the heading "I've checked and I'm not dead".

Hammond wrote of his injuries: "I banged my head, yes, along with pretty much everything else apart from my left thumb, which remains un-bruised."

He took the opportunity to spruik The Grand Tour, saying he couldn't say any more about what happened because "that's all for later in the year on the show".

As for the seriousness of the injuries, he said "I don't think I can get a book out of it".

Clarkson also tweeted about his friend's welfare, suggesting no serious harm had been done.

Doctors say Richard Hammond suffered no damage to his brain in his bike crash. Because he hasn't got one.??? Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson)
March 20, 2017